Boshears' Lawyer Can Test Pills In Katie Kearns' Purse

JOLIET, IL - One of the lawyers representing Joliet Outlaws murder defendant Jeremy Boshears has received permission from a Will County judge to investigate the pills and broken pills recovered by the police from the purse of November murder victim Katie Kearns. Earlier this month, Patch reported that criminal defense attorney Neil Patel had filed a number of pretrial motions at the Will County Courthouse questioning whether the 24-year-old Mokena-area resident was murdered.

"A good faith argument exists where the victim ... took her own life by raising a gun to her head and angled her head towards the gun and committed suicide, allowing the bullet to travel upwards into the ceiling. The defendant-alleged subsequent actions may have flowed from a fear that no one would believe what really happened," attorney Patel informed the court in late March.

Patel's pretrial filings indicate Kearns died from a single gunshot inside the Joliet Outlaws clubhouse during the early morning hours of Monday, Nov. 13, 2017. Toxicology reports later revealed that Kearns had several drugs and alcohol in her system. Her blood alcohol concentration was 0.212. Her drug screen tested positive for cocaine, cocaine metabolites, Alprazolam (which is Xanax), Oxcarbazepine and Citalopram, according to Patel's filing.

Earlier this month, the defense lawyer asked Will County Judge Amy Bertani-Tomczak to allow for tests on several unknown pills recovered from the dead woman's purse. Additionally, Kearns had prescriptions from Silver Cross for Alprazolam, Oxcarbazepine and Quetiapine, Patel noted.

According to Patel's filing:

1. Alprazolam treats anxiety and panic disorders.
2. Oxcarbazepine is for mood disorders and bipolar disorder.
3. Quetiapine is an anti-psychotic.
4. Citalpram is an anti-depressant.

"All four drugs carry an increased risk of suicidal thoughts, ideations and actions. All are contra-indicated for alcohol," the Joliet defense attorney noted.

Prosecutors argue the pills were not at all relevant to the key facts surrounding the young woman's murder.

Last week, Judge Bertani-Tomczak entered her court order on the matter.

"The court orders that the three pill containers ... held by the (Will County Sheriff's Police Department) ... item #5 be sent to the crime lab for analysis, in that the lab is to test the contents of each of the containers and each unique set of pills, both broken and whole," the judge wrote. "The State agrees to this order, but is not conceding any issues as to the admissibility of the results at the time of trial."

Main image via Will County Sheriff's Department